Reel to Reel Room
This room has a reel-to-reel tape recorder on a table playing a series of strange instructions, relayed by the disembodied voice of Mr Stanford. It’s a pre-recorded message, but it responds to real-time events. There is also a writing desk and chair. On the desk is a typewriter with a half-written letter in it, addressed to ‘Minna’. There’s a few cigarette ends and a dirty coffee cup. Next to the typewriter, there’s a hand-written letter on the table,Against the walls, are five large cabinets with glass shelves. On the shelves are dozens of personal items, each one labelled with a time of day. Most of the items are mundane everyday objects such as cufflinks, a key, playing cards, a diary, cigarettes, shoes and a shirt. There’s a Micky Spillane book called ‘Killer Mine’. As well as the display cabinets, there are a couple of spreadsheets hanging on the wall, which follow a similar theme. One sheet is for Monday October 29th 1962 and the other is for the day after. The sheets list a series of times against a list of tasks. There are a series of time-marked coffee cups, in various stages of being drunk, and time-marked crosswords in various stages of completion. A typical extract reads: 2.45pm , Coffee cup, Hot. Leave a full cup on coffee table. 2.47pm , Coffee cup, Half full. Swap with full cup. 3.05pm , Coffee cup, Empty. Swap with half full cup. It is possible that the objects in the cabinets belong to George Buchanan and Mr Stanford is moving them in and out of the office next door in order to create the illusion that George is alive and well and working at Temple Studios. Behind George’s desk, there are a few small cupboards, one of which is full of slides of Castle Howard. Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England. The building has a large dome that has a recreation of Pellegrini's ‘Fall of Phaeton’ painted on the underside. In Greek mythology, Phaeton was a young son of Helios and Klymene who begged his father to let him drive the chariot of the sun. The Sun God reluctantly conceded to the boy's wishes and handed him the reigns. However, the inexperienced Phaeton quickly lost control of the immortal steeds, and the sun-chariot veered out of control setting the earth aflame, scorching the plains of Africa to desert. Zeus was appalled by the destruction and struck the boy from the chariot with a thunderbolt. On George's desk there is a letter from Minna to George dated 19 October 1962. She asks him how ‘The Drowned Man’ is developing and says that she’d love to talk through some of the characters with him. There is also the following letter: George, Firenze 22 October 1962 My love, my darling. I am desperate. Why do I not hear anything from you? Have you met another woman? God, it is with such dread that I write the question that has weighed so heavily on me, unsaid. Please tell me, even if you know the answer will cut me to my core. I cannot carry on like this – it eats me from inside. Please, beloved – let me into your thoughts and your heart. Tell me where you are and what you see in this wide and lonely world. God, spare me this worry, this unending, gnawing pain. Don’t leave me in this state. Minna. References Image credit: http://31.media.tumblr.com/c3960f4564405db0a1f0decd23ea135a/tumblr_myr3i2VKUS1snz2mfo3_500.png/ Category:Rooms Category:Locations